Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Identifying Chinese Agents

German intelligence agencies seized the occasion of the second World Uighur Congress (WUC) in Munich in late November to identify Guoanbu agents.In seeing to the security WUC, the world movement of Moslem resistance in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, Germany’s Bundesverfassungschutz (BfV) and Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) identified new covers used by “fish in deep water” as the Chinese term their covert agents.

While the Germans obviously took a close interest in “diplomats” from China’s consulate in Munich headed by Yang Huqun, they were also on the lookout for far more discreet secret agents from Guoanbu (state security ministry).

In its recent efforts to fight against both Tibetan dissidents and the Uighurs, Guoanbu has set up small “ethnic” shops and restaurants in their communities in West Europe in order to keep an eye on them. In addition to the Buddhist-Taoist Falun Gong sect and the protestant Three Grades of Servant Church - whose leader Xu Shuangfu was executed last week - the Tibetans and Uighurs are considered particularly dangerous, particularly in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

By intercepting telephone calls from Chinese diplomatic posts the Germans learned that Guoanbu officials were keeping a close eye on the new and charismatic president of the World Uighur Congress, Rebiya Kadeer, as well as on Hamit Hemrayev, the head of the Congress’ research bureau which is considered to be the Uighur security and counter-espionage service.

The small delegation from the brand new association of Uighurs in France - which has aroused the intense interest of Guoanbu in Paris - kept a very low profile in Munich on the advice of the French police. Indeed, Chinese liaison officers at Interpol and the French interior ministry are continually asking for surveillance reports on refugees from Xinjiang.